Empowering women

We’re connecting women to economic advancement in the U.S. and around the world.

Through strategic partnerships, investments, and programs, we’re connecting women to the human, social, and financial capital resources they need to maximize their potential. Our efforts are empowering women to enrich their lives, as well as those of their families and communities, and helping create stronger economies worldwide.

empowering-women-overviewdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/womens-topic-page/878x494_WITW_V2_RC_22.jpg|Jordan Global Ambassador Program Mentor and Mentee|We're connecting women worldwide to resources that help them succeed||

RED THREAD PRODUCTIONSBANK OF AMERICA – WOMEN IN THE WORLD VIDEOAS PRODUCED VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Super: ARIJE AL-AMAD: Jordan - Global Ambassador ProgramARIJE AL-AMAD: As a woman, maybe one of the challenges that we are facing is networking.

Super: JENNIE RIPPS: Elizabeth Street Capital JENNIE RIPPS: Knowing who I can trust and who I can reach out to, and having good sources,

Super: RENA M. DE SISTO: Bank Of America, Global Ambassador RENA M. DE SISTO: As we developed a mentoring program we were hearing more and more that women wanted networking. They needed access to capital. And so we look for very good partners who are experts in their fields. And connecting with them., putting our assets and our knowledge together with theirs is really the most effective way to work on issues of social and economic challenges.

Super: ALYSE NELSON: President and CEO, Vital Voices Global PartnershipALYSE NELSON: They also open up a whole new universe. A universe of contacts, of support, of wisdom,

Super: ARCHANA SURANA: India - Global Ambassador ProgramARCHANA SURANA: My mentor looked at how I can build my business, how I need to consolidate, telling me that you’ve got to say no at certain places now. You’ve got to learn that too.

Super: TIMBERLY LEIT: Elizabeth Street Capital TIMBERLY LEIT: To have other people that are going through the same struggles as you, and can tell you how to maneuver when you have a problem, is so important.

Super: DONNA LANGLEY: Global Ambassador DONNA LANGLEY: The notion of a company that has such a global reach as Bank of America does, using that reach and using their influence to impact change all around the world and develop women leaders. Doing it with passion, and advocacy, and real commitment.

Super: MELANNE VERVEER: Executive Director, Institute for Women, Peace and Security-Georgetown University -Founding Partner- Seneca Global PointMELANNE VERVEER: They use their voice, their presence, in communities. Both at home, and the work that they do overseas. And their business products to raise up women economically. I think that is particularly unique.

Super: JENNIFER PRYCE: President & CEO, Calvert FoundationJENNIFER PRYCE: Investing in women is one of the most powerful tools there is. Investing in a woman has shown that they invest, then, in their children, and in the community with the success of their business.

Super: TORY BURCH: Founder, Tory Burch FoundationTORY BURCH: I’m hearing that this is changing their life. To be able to have access to capital, to be able to see, how their business can scale.

MELANNE VERVEER: This is the right thing to do. But it is also the smart and the strategic thing to do. Women are an economic force. And if we want to unlock that kind of economic power that can move our economies forward for decades to come, we have to unlock the potential of women.

[End graphic, Bank of America logo. Learn more at bankofamerica.com/women]

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Lorna Sabbia: What’s unique about this program, is the combination of classroom training, followed immediately by one-on-one mentoring. And that really solidified some of the learning that we could actually turn it into a plan for action.

SUPER: Katerina Cronstedt, Mentee, Russia

Katerina Cronstedt : We are eight mentees coming from very different industries, coming from four different countries,

Victoria Butsich: There are women here from Belarus, from Russia, from the Ukraine, and from Poland.

Eileen O’Connor :Historically, some of these countries have been at odds with each other. Obviously, Poland and Russia. And now, we have a political situation with Russia and the Ukraine. Yet they’re working together.

SUPER: VICTORIA BUTSICH, Mentee, Belarus

Victoria Butsich: What makes us connected, is this opportunity to see that our goals are the same. And that we are facing the same problems, and that we can solve these problems together.

Conference:(Sheri Bronstein☺ Having these regional partners that share Olena’s values, is so important.

Katerina Cronstedt : Global Ambassadors stand for the potential that we can reach. It is not every day that you have the possibility to these kind of powerful people, who have so much knowledge. Mentoring is new to me, I have never had that opportunity before, and it’s just right when I needed it. It’s extremely empowering, to hear that, you can do that.

Anna Colton: I’ve hired thousands of people.

Lidia Adamska: I used to work for the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Victoria Butsich: They all know so much, and they want to share this knowledge, and you only ask one question and you get so many answers, so many bright ideas, this is priceless.

Agnieska Bilinka: Just five days, makes you so strong, and self-confident, and just completely a different person.

SUPER: Anna Colton, Bank of America, Global Ambassador, United States

Anna Colton: They can truly transform who they are and how they were looking at their business to make a positive impact in the world.

Victoria Butsich: I really hope that in Belarus we will transform our society to help our women to grow. I will personally contribute to that.

SUPER: Joanna Janczycka, Mentee, Poland

Joanna Janczycka : The program helped us to broaden our horizons.

SUPER: Olena Galushko, Mentee, Ukraine

Olena Galushko: I considered myself a strong leader before, and then I recognized I’m too much a single player. It was incredible for me.

Agnieska Bilinka I have the one hundred percent clarity what I should do.

red-kenya-long-form-revdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/csr/content/BAC_RED_KENYA_KeyFrame874x494.jpg|RED Kenya|VIDEO: The fight to deliver an AIDS free generation.||

In 2002, 1,500 babies were born every day with HIV. Ten years later, that number was cut in half. The goal? To get that number close to zero. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV is preventable, and treatment costs as little as 40 cents a day.

Meet Mary from Maraigushu, Kenya. HIV positive since 2011, with three beautiful children — each born HIV free. Mary represents progress. Her battle is tough, but she’s proof that the fight to eliminate AIDS is winnable.

Now we need to create more stories like Mary’s. That means more access to medicine. Better education and infrastructure. And more Community Health Workers like Mary’s friend Grace, who’s on the ground in Mary’s village, overseeing treatment, providing emotional support, and making a difference.

Many more still need help. That’s why Bank of America is joining forces with (RED) to provide financial support to the The Global Fund. We now have a historic opportunity to seize upon new advances in treatment, invest more strategically, and engage the right people effectively in the fight against AIDS. (RED) has raised over 250 million dollars and impacted over 40 million people. But the work isn’t done yet.

If we’re going to make meaningful progress toward the end of AIDS, it’s going to take all of us. So Bank of America, in partnership with (RED), invites you to join us in helping to deliver an AIDS free generation.

Mary’s personal story is part of a bigger story. The end of AIDS is in sight. The treatment exists. The moment is now.

VIDEO: The fight to deliver an AIDS free generation.https://red.bankofamerica.com/the-impact.htmlbankofamerica1359940|enter782|2014_489https://red.bankofamerica.com/the-impact.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_828||1359940|enter782|2014_467||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

Nehaya had a gift for making good food, but when her culinary skills outgrew her own kitchen, she turned to us to help transform a passion for home cooking into a successful catering business. With support from a partner organization in Palestine, Nehaya enrolled in the mentoring women in business program. There, our Google-built mentoring platform helped us pair her with Giles, the head of a manufacturing company in the UK, who was keen to share his knowledge and experience with someone whose background is very different from his own.

Using our online tools, Nehaya and Giles work together to create a business plan, source funded, and develop an investment strategy to ensure her company would continue to thrive. With the support she received from the mentoring program, Nehaya was able to launch her catering business. She now employs her own staff, is an active part of the local community and wants to become a mentor herself someday.

So far, our program has also helped women like Karon, in India, build a networking platform for female entrepreneurs, Sahar, to open a print advertising firm in Palestine, and is helping Annette to transform her knowledge of Kenya into a successful tourism business. But we don't want to stop there. We want to reach as many women as we possibly can.

Be a part of this legacy and help us support passionate women like Nehaya, Karon, Annette and Sahar to achieve their dreams and make a difference in their communities.

Find out how you can get involved by visiting our website:

http://www.cherieblairfoundation.org

Helping empower women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies/en-us/partnering-locally/cherie-blair-foundation.htmlClick here to get the whole story.bankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402Helping empower women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging economies/en-us/partnering-locally/cherie-blair-foundation.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

roosevelts-eleanordefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/ken-burns/Eleanor_Video_Still_878x494.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt|Learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, of the most remarkable women in American history||

Eleanor Roosevelt was a woman for all time. She was a woman that stood her ground. Eleanor was the daughter of privilege who lost both her parents as a child.

She married Franklin, a great marriage, but their relationship was fraught with issues. And once she got to the White House, she redefined what it really meant to be the first lady. Fighting for equal rights in the military for men and for women, for minorities, for those who didn’t have a voice.

For many years we have partnered with Ken Burns and his Florentine Films, because nobody is better at telling the story of American history.

Ken Burns is a historian, a filmmaker, a storyteller that has brought to life the most important moments of American history, whether it is the Civil War, World War Two, America’s past time in baseball, and soon, the Roosevelts.

Eleanor transcends all the generations. She is a remarkable figure in history, and a remarkable figure for women in terms of what she overcame, what she accomplished, and just who she was.

Learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, of the most remarkable women in American historybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en954Learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, of the most remarkable women in American history_self1359940|enter782|2014_810||1359940|enter782|2014_270||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

Rena De Sisto: You’re putting the social good, before the business realities. It’s coming out with everyone.

v/o Vera Golik: Here in Brazil, we have this strong Catholic heritage that makes people imagine that you have to do social projects for free.

Fabiola Brumley: So we just did the math. They can quadruple in a year.

v/o Vera Golik: My mentor gave me another perspective that I really need.

Vera Golik: Now I love numbers.

Zoe Dean-Smith: We dream about changing the world…

v/o Zoe Dean-Smith: The public forum gives an opportunity for the broader community to be engaged in that conversation. What those challenges are. What are some of the solutions?

SUPER:LUZ MARIA DE LA MORA, FOUNDER, LMM COUNSELING

Luz De La Mora: One by one, we can make a difference.

SUPER:KARLA BORGES FURLANETO, FOUNDING PARTNER, KB ASSOCIATES

Karla Furlaneto: I keep saying, “I am just a lawyer, I am just a lawyer, I am just a lawyer.” I am a lawyer. And oh yeah! And I have this knowledge!

Lina Jaramillo: I have a list of ideas, and things that I know I need to change. And I will have my mentor to help me. That for me will be the difference.

Vera Golik: Global Ambassador Program was so deep and I learned so much. Really turning point in my life. We can continue this bond forever.

Connecting business women in Brazil/en-us/partnering-locally/brazil-2013.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402See how we connected women leaders at our 2013 Global Ambassadors forum in Brazil./en-us/partnering-locally/brazil-2013.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

ZOE DEAN-SMITH: The first one was held in Haiti. Since then we’ve been to Singapore, we’ve been to India, South Africa, Brazil, and Qatar. We look for women who actually engaged in their communities. To be mentored by a high-level executive woman leader.

ALEINE SACDALAN-RAMOS: My mentor give me so many advices on how to do our brand, and concrete steps to make it happen. (conference) We keep on innovating.

Super: NANCY BRENNAN: Head of Marketing, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Global Ambassador, United States

NANCY BRENNAN: The work that’s been accomplished by the mentees already, the vision they have for their futures, it’s so large, it’s so inspiring. You can see the extraordinary impact these women will have.

(v/o) JANIE WANLESS: Another really important part is, we’re having a mentoring walk where our mentees, will walk as mentors.

DALIA SAAFAN: We were matched with businesswomen to walk and to really share their experiences. The mentor, it's like she has the torch in her hand lightening the way. It's a great responsibility for me to pay it forward.

NANCY BRENNAN: At Bank of America Merrill Lynch, we’re committed to make this investment in these women, because it’s not just the right thing to do, but its also a tremendous opportunity for economic development for their families, their communities, and for their countries.

ZOE-DEAN SMITH: The Global Ambassador Program has a broader impact than just the Global Ambassadors and Mentees. When they go back home, they share with others. And it’s tremendously successful.

JENNIFER SMITH: In India Donna and Sarika talked about building a whole new component of her business. Sarika is now doing diversity consulting for corporations in India. So that exchange has opened up an entirely new revenue source for Sarika. But then also leads to corporations employing more women.

(v/o) ALYSE NELSON:In Haiti, the president actually announced an investment of ten million dollars to implement the platform the women had created. We’ve also seen the number of women in the cabinet more than doubled. From three ministers; now they’re seven.

Super: BARBARA GUILLAUME, Artist and Vocalist Participant, Haiti

BARBARA GUILLAUME: You gonna see the change, you gonna see it. I think tomorrow we can go anywhere.

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